Perspective on the Status of Research and Development Concerning Minority Groups in the United States.

Gordon, Edmund W.

The most pressing problems of research on minority groups have not received adequate attention. One such problem is that of identification and understanding of the mechanisms of learning facility and learning dysfunction and the implications of both for the optimum development of heterogeneous populations. Secondly, in contrast to the body of research and statistics concerning intellectual status, little has been done to analyze the qualitative aspects of intellectual function in target populations. A third area of research on plasticity of intellectual development has yet to yield definitive results. Zigler's work on the relationship between quality of intellectual function and affective state may provide insight into the development of cognitive achievement, if pursued. A fourth area of possible research is the implications of population diversity and pluralism for behavioral analysis and assessment. Finally the context in which learning takes place and the purposes served by learning must also be further explored. Ogbu and Wallace have argued, in different ways, that the purposes served by education are determined by the society that sponsors it. (Author/WI)